Always
by Nancy J. Lisse
Summary: After an untimely death in the line of duty, Emily, unseen and unheard, must come back and help the love of her life move on. M just for language.
1. Prologue

Hello readers... this is my first Criminal Minds story and I'm super excited to be writing again... after a loooong absence. This fic is going to be based on the movie Always (1989) one of my all time favorite movies starring Richard Dreyfuss and Holly Hunter two of my favorite actors.... Anyway, if you end up liking the story, I strongly suggest you see the movie... it'a amazing!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or it's characters... nor do I own Always or it's character.... this is all in good fun!!

Happy reading.

* * *

Prologue

It is a man's world.

She knows this, and yet every day she wakes up determined to prove _them_ wrong. Them, who say women shouldn't see the things she sees on a daily basis. Them, who believe women are the weaker of the two sexes, who don't belong taking up a man's career. But they don't know, they don't know her.

She is a strong, independent, and sometimes stubborn woman, risking her life every day to make a difference in the world. She works day in and day out to save the lives of thousands of innocent people, and put the scum of the earth behind bars for good. It is her calling, it's her life. The only life she has ever known… that is, until she met him. And now she has two loves, two things she couldn't ever possibly live without.

But it seems that lately her life has been changing. She is slowly stepping out of her comfort zone and crossing the line into the unknown. The unknown is surprisingly uncomfortable to her. She has always dealt well with change, but this time it is different. This change would mean the beginning of a whole new life, an entirely different adventure. An adventure that just a year ago she didn't see in her future at all. And this is what scares her the most, the suddenness of it; she's not one for spontaneity… not anymore anyway.

She has long passed into the stage of her life where preparation and careful planning became an everyday part of life, reckless impulses few and far between. Where hard work and determination bring you happiness and opportunities don't fall in your lap when least expected. That is how she was trained to live, but now… this man is making her head spin. Her thoughts that were once so sturdy in her mind are starting to sway. If a strong enough wind came along, they might just fall over.

But not yet.

She's not quite finished with this man's world.

* * *

Alright... so what do you think? Sorry that it's short but I'm just setting the stage. Let me know if you'd like more.


	2. In Love and Work

Okay guys here's chapter two... I'm going to be sooo late for work cause I wanted to finish this!! Heehee... so anyways, this isn't going to be much about the case so i'm sorry that I dont go into much detail.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

Happy Reading!

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In Love and Work

It is Monday morning at the BAU and Jennifer "JJ" Jareau is running late. There have been an incredible amount of case files piling up the past few days and it gets extremely exhausting. What's worse is the constant nagging in the back of her mind, reminding her that she just chose which lives were worth saving and which, by default, were not. At least to her, that's what it seems like she's doing. And the lingering question is always the same. _Did I choose the right case?_

As she walks through the bull pen, selected case file in hand, she spots Derek Morgan and Dr. Spencer Reid both quietly chatting about some relationship statistics. Well, Reid is the one talking statistics. Once she is settled in the board room, the chatty duo soon follow in her wake and take seats across from each other. David Rossi is already comfortable at the end of the long table, clicking his pen, impatiently awaiting the arrival of the last two Agents.

_Hmmphh… they probably got lost… in bed. _Rossi smiled to himself. He knew about them, everyone did. They _were _profilers, after all.

"Hotch and Prentiss should be here soon," JJ states, practically reading his mind, as she pulls up the face of their beloved technical analyst on the small screen of her laptop. "Morning Garcia."

"Good morning my little chick-a-dees," Penelope Garcia replies cheerfully.

---

"Aaaaaron," Emily Prentiss whined playfully. "Will you stop looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" Aaron Hotchner replied, feigning innocence.

"Like you're never going to see me again. I'm just walking around the other side of the car."

Emily giggled aloud when she was taken by surprise as Aaron wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet, spinning them both around.

"Well I can't help it. It's just that I love you so much! I – love – you Emily Prentiss," he emphasized.

She smiled. "Me too baby, me too."

Aaron dismissed the slight pang of disappointment at her choice of words; he knew exactly what she meant. He always did.

After a short silence, she cradled his face in her hands and looked him in the eyes. Running a hand through his hair, she leaned in to kiss him with all she had. After they parted, Emily pulled him closer and nestled her face in the crook of his neck, breathing him in.

"Come on we're going to be late," Aaron whispered in her ear and set her on her feet.

---

Within the next hour, the meeting is going quickly. Their newest case is about to take them to Tampa, Florida, a beautiful vacation destination. However, this will be anything but a vacation for the profilers. A series of breaking and enterings had quickly escalated into a string of murders and the local police department was eager to ask for the FBI's assistance.

"Six murders so far in the span of a month. A seventh, a young woman by the name of Rebecca Stone, is still missing. It's been three days since her disappearance," JJ briefs the rest of her team.

"And they're sure it's the same guy? The burglaries and the murders, they don't think they're unrelated? It just seems rather odd for a burglary to escalate that quickly to kidnapping and murder," Morgan muses.

"Well, local police aren't completely sure what's going on. The burglaries stopped right before the disappearances started. All within a ten mile radius of Tampa. So we've got to consider the possibility," JJ says.

"Yes we should consider it. Wheels up in twenty," Hotch instructs.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it.... now we're getting somewhere! Next stop... Tampa FL

R&R for me! =)


	3. And They're Off

Here we go, chapter three!! Hope everyone is enjoying it so far... and just a special thank you for all who reviewed and alerted this story! I really love all your feedback!

The teams in Florida, my favorite state!! Please dont mind my tenses, sometimes I goes back to past tense on accident, and when I proofread, sometimes I miss one and don't fix it. Also any other mistakes are mine b/c I dont have a beta.

And as far as the case itself goes, don't look too much into it, I'm sure theres plenty of loop holes. Seeing as the case is not my main focus, I'm not stressing over an amazing case file in this story.

Disclaimer: Same as always... I own nothing.

Anyways... Happy reading!

* * *

They land at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa at 2pm sharp. It is hot and humid as the team files out of the small plane. Talking amongst themselves, they gather their "go bags" and descend down the small set of stairs to the black tarmac. Two black government-issued SUVs await the group in the shade of one of the hangars.

Resituating her bag over her shoulder, Emily feels a familiar hand come to rest on the small of her back. Finding Aaron walking on her right, his arm reaching behind her, she smiles at him.

"JJ and Reid, you're with me. We need to set up camp at the local police department. Find out exactly what they've got so far. Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss, head over to Rebecca Stone's residence. Search everything, we don't know much about this guy," Hotch gives the orders as he opens the driver's door to the first car and climbs in.

"Shotgun!" calls Emily and starts for the passenger side of the second car.

"Hey, what the hell does that mean?" Rossi looks at Morgan.

"Well, it comes from the American fascination with the Old West, when the person sitting next to the coach driver carried a shotgun to fend off robbers or Indians," Reid offers from the back seat of the first SUV. "It means…"

Morgan cuts him off as he assists Reid in shutting his car door.

"_It means_ I'm driving and you get the back seat old man," Morgan puts simply, grinning widely.

---

Rebecca Stone's one-level apartment is a mess. The couch is torn apart, drawers in every room open or dumped upside down on the floor. Broken glass from a vase covered the kitchen floor, a single rose laying haphazardly in a small puddle under an overturned chair.

"Well this is most likely the scene of the abduction," Emily suggests.

"Unless he ransacked the place first then picked her up somewhere else, or vice versa," Morgan says, considering all possibilities.

"Unlikely," counters Rossi holding up a broken cell phone. "He smashed it. Why?"

The other two remain silent, rummaging around for anything that might have been missed.

Emily notes the lack of any electronics in the apartment. "So much for our theory of two unsubs. So he robs the place, then comes back and abducts the victims? I just don't get it."

She wanders into the bedroom. It seems relatively untouched. The bed is made, for which she is grateful for. The bedside table drawer is open, as is the top drawer of the oak dresser, but the rest of the room remains intact.

The house is quiet. She can hear the quiet murmur of voices from the other rooms of the house and then a cell phone rings somewhere off in the distance. She turns to leave the bedroom when she hears it.

A muffled crash, not loud but… definitely a crash.

The closet. Off to her left, it is closed, but she is sure she heard something hit the door. She turns slowly and starts toward the closet. Silently approaching the door, she puts her hand on her glock, just in case. She unclips her gun and raises it steadily as she reaches for the handle.

The brass knob is cold as she turns it, and in one swift motion swings open the door.

"Ahhh…"

* * *

Hmmm, a cliffy!! This is me trying my hand at suspense (and some humor earlier on)... I hope I don't let you all down haha

Reid's explanation of "shotgun" was found on ... so credit goes to whoever wrote it... and I hope Rossi wouldn't take offense to being called "old man" heehee

Review for me if you wanna know what happens!! =)


	4. Girl Clothes

Okay, here's a nice long chapter for you!! I had this written this morning, then I came back to it and added some actual lines from the movie (after watching a clip online).

so those lines (which i will quote in the footnote) are NOT mine... neither is anything related to CM or Always.

thanks for all the reviews so far...

Happy reading!!

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Hearing a crash and a yelp from the bedroom, Rossi and Morgan take off in the direction of the noise. When they reach the cause of the commotion they find Emily on the ground… laughing.

"Ouuchh…" Emily whines between bits of quiet laughter. She's surrounded by what looks like various personal effects, most likely belonging to their missing victim.

"Girl," Morgan teases, helping her up. "What on earth are ya doin'?"

"Ughhh, making quite a mess in here," she replies. "I heard something from the closet so I opened it and… yea, that box just fell over… on my head, no less." She rubs her head and bends over to collect some of the objects and place them back in the cardboard box.

"Hotch just called. He wants to meet up back at the station, so uhh, whenever you're ready Prentiss," Rossi chuckles.

"You could help us," Morgan says to Rossi from his knees, examining some old photographs.

"Oh I don't think so. I'm an old man remember?" Rossi pats him on the shoulder and then disappears out of sight.

Still on the ground, Emily holds up a pair of fuzzy pink handcuffs and tosses them at Morgan. She wiggles her eyebrows and grins playfully at him as he picks them up off his lap.

---

The rest of the day is rather uneventful. After meeting back at the station the team works on their profile. They throw ideas off one another until their eyelids are heavy and they reach a place where no amount of coffee can possibly revive them.

By midnight the group is checking into a local hotel. They have reservations for six single-bed rooms. As the group says their goodnights, JJ is on the phone with Garcia.

"Garcia says goodnight," she announces to the group, and she disappears into her room. Everyone else follows her lead.

After Emily shuts her door and drops her bag casually on the bed, the left pocket of her pants vibrates. She pulls out her Blackberry and reads the message displayed across the lit screen.

_My room in five? - Aaron_

---

His room is cool and dark as he ushers her in and lets the door swing closed. He pins her against the wall and welcomes her with a fervent kiss.

"Mmm… that's quite a hello Agent Hotchner," Emily purrs as she pulls away.

He smiles, trying to think of a smart comeback. At a loss, he captures her lips instead. He lifts her easily, lips never parting, and carries her across the small room.

"I've got something for you. An early birthday gift," he says as he places her at the foot of the bed. She sits.

When he reaches his 'go bag' he pulls out a shirt box.

"Baby, you didn't have to," Emily says excitedly.

The lid of the box falls to the ground and Emily is in awe.

"Aww, Aaron… you bought me girl clothes!"

Hotch can see her face light up, even in the low light of the hotel room. He bought her a silky white dress that sparkles when the light catches it just right, and a pair of white heels. It's not often in their line of work that Emily gets treated like the woman that she is, the woman that he sees. Dressing every day in a pantsuit, she doesn't leave much room in her closet for 'girl clothes,' as she puts it. But every beautiful girl deserves a beautiful dress.

"So you do like dresses?" he asks, smiling.

"It's not the dress, it's the way you see me."

Standing up, she gathers the dress and runs to the bathroom.

Moments later she emerges. The dress flows just past her knees and moves elegantly as she walks toward him. The white offsets her dark hair that falls down in loose curls around her face, touching her shoulders. Aaron would swear on his own life that he has never seen anything so drop-dead gorgeous.

He stands up and meets her in the middle of the room.

"Dance with me Emily."

She takes his hand and he pulls her close. Clinging tight to each other, they dance to the beating of their hearts.

---

Laying together on the bed, Emily pulls the covers up to her chin and closes her eyes.

"Em…"

"Hmmm?" she hums her response, sleep starting to overcome her.

"I love you," Hotch whispers.

She rolls over to face him, "I know." She smiles.

His lips twitch and he can't mask his disappointment fast enough.

"What's wrong?"

"Em, why don't you say it?"

"Say what?"

"'I love you'. Why don't you say 'I love you'?"

He sits up on the bed and reaches forward to tuck a stray hair behind her ear.

"Wh—Aaron, I don't know. I never…" she pauses. "But you know I do."

"Of course I do, it would just mean a lot to me if you'd say it."

"I – I don't know if I'm ready. I mean I feel it, but… it's difficult to explain really."

Pushing herself up, she leans against the headboard and runs a hand through her hair.

"Are you unsure? Unsure about us?"

"No! Absolutely not."

"Then why? And why don't you want to get married? My priorities are changing Emily. I'm at the point in my life where I want nothing more than to get married and have a family with you. I love you."

"Oh Aaron, I know… but I can't. I can't give up this job yet, I'm just not ready to. What I feel for you is unlike anything I have ever felt before… but I'm just not done with this stage of my life yet."

She knows he is upset, and she hates herself for causing him pain. But she's just not sure if she's ready to cross the line into the next stage of her life. For the better part of a year, her bounds have already been pushed farther than she thought would ever be possible for her. The relationship she has now is, quite frankly, scaring the shit out of her. She swears that love is more frightening than any unsub she has ever faced.

"I'm so sorry," Emily lets her head fall forward into her hands. She wipes a tear that has escaped and breathes in deeply. She can hear him sigh beside her.

"Emily, honey, look at me."

He moves closer. She finds his eyes and they are a mixture of love and sorrow.

"I love you. And I understand. Me, of all people should understand. So I'll wait until you are ready to take the next step. It's going to be hard for me, but, I will. For you."

She dries her eyes with the back of her hand. She giggles softly at his lopsided grin.

He puts his hand in the air as if he is holding a champagne glass, about to make a toast.

"To us."

Mirroring him, she 'clinks' her imaginary glass to his.

"Always."

* * *

Hha, well the cliffy.... not what you expected, hopefully.

Okay these following quotes are not mine: "You bought me girl clothes" "so you do like dresses" "it's not the dress it's the way you see me" "to us" "always"

review for me!!! thank ya =)


	5. Rescue and Search

heyy... well here's another chapter for you... they just keep getting longer and longer...

thanks soooo much to all who have reviewed so far, you have no idea how much they mean... they really are the reason I have kept at this story so diligently

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Warning: eventual character death in this story... i've forgotten to post that in the previous chapters... so just letting everyone know loud and clear

Happy reading everyone!!

* * *

"Ahh damn…"

Emily rolls over in an empty bed, blindly reaching for her cell phone. She hears the vibrations of the buzzing against the wood nightstand, but it's too dark in the hotel room to see it. The hotel curtains are certainly doing their job.

"Ha! Gotcha."

4 new text messages.

_Em, you didn't answer your door when I knocked. We're meeting downstairs in the lobby in twenty minutes. I was going to get you coffee, but Hotch beat me to it. – JJ_

_Rise and shine hot stuff, you are gonna be late girl... – Derek_

_Don't make me regret I let you sleep in. Love you. – Aaron_

_I'm coming to get you! – JJ_

Emily laughs to herself; she certainly does have a great family. Exiting out of her message inbox to the home screen, the time reads 7:53am.

"Shit!"

Jumping out of bed she looks around for her bag. Remembering she's not in her own room, she grabs her new dress and shoes and throws on her clothes from last night. Taking a quick glance around to make sure she has everything, she races to the door and yanks it open. Just as she charges into the hallway and the door locks closed behind her, she notices JJ standing in front of the room she is supposed to be in. In a vain attempt to avoid getting caught by her friend she tries to get back into the room. Not only does she fail to open the door, but she succeeds in getting JJ to look in her direction.

Disheveled hair and old makeup and are dead giveaways that she has just woken. Stumbling out of her boss's hotel room at eight in the morning is a dead giveaway that… well, that she _slept_ in her boss's hotel room.

"I knew it! I knew it!" JJ sing-songs loudly in the small hallway, quickly closing the gap between the two of them.

"Jayjay shhhh—" Emily gets cut off.

"Nah-ah-uh Emily. Do not ruin this for me… I knew you two were together!! So cute, I can't wait to tell Pen. Do you think she knows already?"

Emily rolls her eyes but can't help but laugh. She checks her phone again for the time.

"Jay, hold on. Give me two minutes, okay?"

She dashes down to her own room and disappears inside. Three minutes later she emerges in clean clothes. JJ doesn't know how she did it, but she also managed to brush her teeth and her hair, as well as touch up her makeup.

---

At around lunch time, the team still hasn't gotten much further with their profile. Hotch decides it would be best to split up in teams of two and search the other victim's residences. He wants quick searches, just to make sure they are clearly dealing with one unsub, and that none of the murders are unrelated.

Morgan and Rossi take the two homes closest to the shore, Emily and Reid the next two farther inland, and JJ and Hotch, the remaining two.

By five o'clock Hotch receives texts from both pairs. All the houses follow the same pattern. Couches, chairs, drawers… all turned upside down and inside out, electronics non-existent in any of the homes, cell phones smashed to pieces or missing altogether. All the victims' cars are either parked in their driveway or in the garage of their apartment complex, keys on the driver's seat.

Hotch has Garcia checking credit card records, phone records, anything and everything, trying to find a commonality between the six murdered women and the seventh who is still missing.

---

"Hotchner," Hotch answers his cell as he is about to meet JJ at the car.

It's Garcia. "Sir, I've got something, the second woman, Angela Brinmore. I got a hit on her cell phone."

She gives him the location.

He calls the chief of police and forwards the message, telling him to meet him and his team there. Then he calls Rossi and Emily. They each repeat the news to their respective partners, and within five minutes each couple is headed to the same destination.

---

The Tampa police had arrived first. Off in the distance a helicopter can be heard, rapidly getting closer.

One by one, each of the three SUVs carrying the members of the BAU arrive on the scene. They find themselves on the south-bound side of a semi-major highway. There are woods on both sides of the highway and a small clearing directly in front of them.

Hotch gets out of the car and meets up with the chief of police, the helicopter making itself known as it is just about directly overhead. Hotch is straining to hear the officer over all the noise.

"Female, Caucasian, approximately 5' 7''. Believe it or not, we found her alive. We called a MedEvac to airlift her outta here. She's not in very good shape, mind you."

At the very edge of the woods, the pair reaches the woman who is surrounded by officers. Hotch is able to confirm that she is in fact Rebecca Stone. She is unconscious, but breathing. Severely beaten, he is sure that if she was awake, her eyes would still be swollen shut. The MedEvac lands in the small clearing, now behind them, and emergency medical personnel jump out and prepare to take her to the nearest hospital.

Once she is being examined by professionals, Hotch looks around. He had been so caught up the fact that they had found Rebecca alive, he'd forgotten about his team. They were all about ten feet to his left, inspecting a white van. He hadn't even noticed the van.

Approaching the vehicle, he can tell his team is excited.

"The cell phone is on," Rossi says over the sound of the MedEvac as he picks it up and goes through the recently made calls list.

"And I've tried to start the van. It won't turn over," this time it's Emily.

"Dead battery?" Hotch inquired.

"Most likely."

Reid is next to speak. "The driver's door was open, and so were the back doors. The officers that arrived first said they didn't touch anything, they were preoccupied with Rebecca. So I'm assuming he went to leave her on the edge of the woods, but when he came back, the van's dead. He takes off on foot."

"Maybe he tried to use the cell to call someone," Morgan is practically yelling.

"7:23pm. He made a call at 7:23pm today, to a residential number," Rossi hands the phone over to Hotch.

"That was only ten minutes ago," Emily's voice rises almost an octave. "Local authorities got here, maybe five minutes ago. They missed him by five damn minutes."

"Hotch, he's on foot. We might be able to catch him," Morgan is already racing back to his SUV to get his FBI vest.

Hotch and the rest of the team are quick to follow.

---

Within five minutes, everyone is suited up, including ten members of the Tampa police department. The only one not suited is JJ who is ready to leave with Tampa's chief of police. Hotch wants her to check up on Rebecca Stone and contact her family members. Hotch turns to the rest of the team and the other officers and gives the orders for the search.

"Alright. Everyone spread out. The chief said there's a town about a mile and a half, that way, on the other side of these woods." He points behind everyone. "We need to move quickly if we want to catch up and possibly cut him off before he reaches the town. We've also got about a half-dozen officers headed that way by car; they're going to meet us at the other side, if we get that far before dark. He has about a fifteen minute head start. Saying he's not expecting us may give us a slight advantage; he might just be walking at this point. Again, it's getting dark. I want everyone heading back to this clearing once the sun sets; you're no help to the search if you're lost in the woods in the dark. I want verbal confirmation before any take downs." He adjusts his walkie-talkie on his vest as he says this. "And most importantly, be careful. Be aware and be smart."

The group splits up along the trees, almost in a line, as if lining up like a Civil War battle. Morgan and Prentiss each take the outer positions; Morgan, the far right, and Prentiss, the far left. Being in the best shape, they hope to be able to take the outer route and loop around to meet in the middle, but on the other side of the woods. If they move fast enough, they hope to get in front of the unsub, successfully encircling him as the others close in behind from behind.

Everyone is ready to go, and the helicopter is taking off behind them. The force of the blades is blowing the trees forcefully along the edge of the clearing.

Hotch and Emily catch each other's stares before they head into the trees. They smile at each other, past the three police officers that stand between them, and he mouths the words 'I love you'. For a moment, Hotch is lost in her smile, but he quickly recovers. As much as he doesn't want her wandering the woods with a dangerous killer on the loose, he can't exactly give her a good reason to stand down, other than for the pure fact that he loves her and doesn't want anything to happen to her. Regaining his focus, and most of his objectivity, he gives the signal and everyone takes off into the woods.

For a minute Emily hangs back, watching Hotch quickly make his way through the trees. The wind is fierce from the MedEvac that is now hovering about six feet off the ground.

And at that moment, something inside her clicks.

"I love you!"

She yells those three words at the top of her lungs, as loud as she possibly can. But Hotch continues to jog briskly, deeper into the woods. With a small smile, she takes off too. She sprints for a few minutes to make up for lost time, all the way thinking about the irony of the situation.

The one time she actually had the courage to say 'I love you,' her words were no match for the fuss of the departing helicopter.

Her 'I love you' was simply swept away in the breeze.

* * *

Okay... not much of a cliffy but the pace has sped up a little

I would love to hear some feedback from my readers... let me know what you like, what you dont

Review to find out what happens next!! =)


	6. Alone

Hey!! I can't believe I've had such a long absence... I feel so bad!! Ughh but life has a way of doing that (see footnote). So anyway, I promise I will not abandon this story, I love it too much. I will be trying to make updates as much as I can, but to be honest, I don't know how often they will come. But I will try with all I have to get these chapters out to you guys.

Okay... Disclaimer: I don't own a damn thing, as usual.  
Rated T for some language.

Warning: Eventual character death.

Happy reading everyone... I hope this makes up for my lack of updates.

* * *

Alone

She can't tell how long she's been running. Ten minutes, maybe twenty. Either way it doesn't look as if she's gotten anywhere. Everything looks the same. The trees around her are a blur, speeding by as she darts through them. The sound of her heartbeat in her ears is deafening and she can barely hear the crunching of dead leaves as her feet move swiftly on the forest ground. The wind stings as it hits her face, causing her eyes to water slightly. It's getting hard to breathe.

So she stops. And she listens… for anything, for voices, for movement. But there is nothing, like all the sounds of the world have evaporated into nothingness. It's an eerie feeling; like you're the only one in existence, alone in a motionless, soundless vacuum.

The sun is beginning to meet the horizon. An orange-red glow is seeping through the trees, the bright beams of light breaking up the vast, dark shadows on the ground. Under different circumstances, it would be quite the sunset.

Deciding she has spent too much time stationary, Emily moves quickly once again. Sprinting again, she tries to listen for any voices over the walkie talkie strapped to her belt. Nothing but quiet static.

_No sign of him yet._

---

After a while longer, about a hundred feet in front of her, she notices that the woods start to thin out. She can distinguish the off-white structures beyond the edge of the forest to be houses. At first she is confused as to why she doesn't hear any sirens from the police cars that were dispatched to the neighborhood. But having sirens blaring probably wouldn't be very helpful right now, she decides.

Figuring that she should start to make her way inward to close the 'circle' they are attempting to create, she takes a hard right. Despite the feeling that this probably wasn't the best way to go about cornering their unsub, she remains hopeful that all will turn out for the best. Thoughts are fleeting through her mind as she runs, looking either for Morgan, who should be heading in her direction, or the unsub, who could, quite honestly, be anywhere.

There is no one.

Stopping, she turns away from the direction of the houses, trying to see any movement from the direction in which everyone else should be coming from, including the unsub. They should all be heading her way. Right now Emily stands alone, listening and waiting, gun ready should she need it. She glances to her left, in hopes of spotting Morgan making his way to meet her, but he does not appear.

Darkness is falling rapidly.

'Snap.'

She freezes. A sound off to her left has caught her attention.

_Morgan… possibly._

'Snap.'

But she can't be certain, so she crouches low behind a nearby tree. Situating herself, kneeling on her right knee, she aims her gun in the direction of the noise.

'Snap.'

All but her eyes are still. It is getting progressively harder to scan the area, as the sun is just about ready to disappear below the horizon. She is breathing heavy, but silently, her heartbeat bellowing in her eardrums.

And the sound persists.

_C'mon Morgan, damn it. Say something._

-BEEP- "This is Unit One. All units fall back. I repeat, all units fall back." -BEEP-

The sound of Hotch's voice over her walkie talkie reverberates loudly, catching Emily off guard, startling her. She jumps slightly, almost dropping her weapon. Without looking down, she attempts to quickly find the volume button.

_Oh shit. God, be quiet._

Feeling none, she becomes slightly frantic. Focusing her full attention to the walkie talkie, she looks down and grabs it from her belt. With her gun still held loosely in her right hand, she pushes every button she finds.

-BEEP- "This is Unit One. I want verbal confirmations. Start Unit Two." -BEEP-

_Fuck. Shut the hell up…_

Fumbling with the small contraption, it slips from her grasp, and lands in the leaves.

She reaches down...

'Click.'

"Don't move bitch."

* * *

Alrighty then... dun dun dun! Haha sorry, I just love cliffy's!!

I hope that I am not too confusing with how they are trying to surround the unsub... it was kind of difficult to describe it. And I don't know if a trained FBI agent would ever completely lose sight of a possible threat, but hey things happen... people make mistakes...

(As far as my excuse... I met this amazing guy =D so he's been spending any free time I do actually have with him... back in august, I work retail so many many hours working back to school... then my college classes started up... so busy busy busy)

I am trying to be as realistic as I possibly can... so leave me some feedback please... criticism, praise, anything!! Thanks... I hope to update this again soon!!


	7. So They Run

Hey guys!! Here's a nice loooong chapter for you... once I started, I just couldn't stop writing!!! =D

I just wanna say thanks to everyone who alerted, and favorited, and reviewed this story... its awesome to get feedback from my readers

Anyway... Disclaimer: not mine... Warning: character death... I have moved this story up to M, simply for language

Happy reading...

* * *

So They Run

-BEEP- "Unit Two checking in." -BEEP-

_Good. Morgan._

Hotch is standing back where they started, at the edge of the clearing, waiting for each unit to send the 'okay'. Protocol requires the units to check back in order. So he waits for Unit Three, Rossi. Within seconds…

-BEEP- "Unit Three. Clear." -BEEP-

And Reid…

-BEEP- "Unit Four. Fine Sir." -BEEP-

He starts to relax, more and more each time he hears a member of his team check in.

One minute passes…

Emily is Unit Five, and he finds himself rather excited just to hear her voice.

Two…

He tries to imagine the cute little phrase she will use to tell him she is fine.

Three…

She knows just how to word it, so it's professional, yet not at all. Only he will know that what she says is meant specifically for him. And that makes him happy.

He glances at his watch. It's been almost four minutes since Reid checked in.

-BEEP- "Unit Five. Come in." -BEEP-

Static.

-BEEP- "I repeat Unit Five. I need verbal confirmation on your whereabouts." -BEEP-

_Emily answer me._

Then the fear hits. It crushes him in an instant, the sensation so overwhelming, he can't breathe. It is the most suffocating feeling he has ever experienced.

He practically screams this time.

-BEEP- "Unit Five… EMILY answer me damn it!" -BEEP-

Silence.

So he runs.

---

Morgan is standing in a civilian's back yard. He is in the shadow of an enormous off-white house, possibly three stories high. He can see a woman absentmindedly moseying around her million-dollar kitchen, not a care in the world, except what to make for dinner this time. If only she felt the fear he feels right now; maybe she would be debating about something different, besides… chicken or turkey? Instead, maybe she would be debating on whether to follow protocol and stay put, or follow her heart and help a friend in need.

He heard Hotch yell for Emily over the walkie talkie. It's frightening to hear him scream at her like that.

But then he heard silence… utter silence. That frightens him even more.

And the debating is over. There never really was a debate to begin with, the heart always wins.

So he runs.

---

Rossi had been wandering, cautiously of course, back in the direction from which he came. It wasn't long before he stumbled upon Reid, who was doing precisely the same thing.

Now… they are both stopped dead in their tracks.

A few minutes have passed since Reid announced his well-being; a few minutes of silence. But there is definitely not supposed to be a few minutes of silence. Emily is Unit Five, but she is not responding. She _should_ be responding right now… but she's not. And it's not like Emily to play games, not in a situation like this. They both know this, and yet, they are secretly hoping that this is some kind of sick joke.

And then Hotch booms over the walkie talkie. Three times he calls for her.

They knew better than to try and fool themselves, this is no joke.

So they run.

---

"I said drop your fucking gun."

His words are dripping with disdain and she can hear the hatred in his voice. It makes her sick to know that a human being is capable of such abhorrence.

She doesn't look up at him.

"Okay… okay, just… relax," Emily says as she places her gun next to the walkie talkie on the ground.

"Get up," he seethes.

She finally looks up at him, and is met with the sight of a 9 millimeter pointed directly between her eyes. She looks past the barrel of the gun. He's not a large man, but definitely strong. Dressed in an oversized flannel jacket and rugged blue jeans, he seems relatively short. Black hiking boots adorn his feet. She quickly wonders if they're steel-toed. Glancing back up at his face, she takes mental notes: green eyes, short brown hair, 5'9'' at the most…

"Now."

She slowly rises, but doesn't put her hands up. He didn't tell her to, but either way, she's not going to give him the satisfaction. If she does, he has all the power; she would be surrendering to him. And that is not about to happen.

"Back away from the gun," he demands.

She hesitates, and then takes the smallest step backwards. Maybe it's pride… maybe stupidity… but she is going to make their encounter very difficult for him. She is not about to let this unsub get away unscathed. Who knows, maybe agitating him just a little will buy her team enough time to get to her. Or maybe it'll just piss him off.

"Don't test me girl. I _will_ kill you."

Emily is compartmentalizing… well, trying to. She doesn't care how brave anyone is, if there is a gun in your face, fear is inevitable. No amount of compartmentalizing will ever change that. Yet, her face does not falter; it does not show the fear she feels. It is far easier to convince others that her skills are flawless, than it is to convince herself.

The unsub seems to find her audacity amusing. He gives her a malicious grin as he takes a step forward. He is testing her.

As an involuntary reflex, she takes a step back.

He laughs.

"I knew it. You're scared, just like them. You can't fool me. You women are all the same… pathetic. I guess the _F.B.I. _doesn't provide courage to go along with that gun of yours, hmm?" he mocks her, glancing down at her chest, reading the white letters printed on her vest.

He licks his lips.

A few seconds pass and she can't tell if he's still looking at the letters, or if he's imagining her naked. She really doesn't want to know.

_Sick son of a bitch._

"So where are your F.B.I. friends?" he asks her, stepping closer still. So close, she can smell him. He smells like death.

It takes all she has not to cower away.

"I don't know," she plays dumb. She doesn't want him rushing out of here, with or without her.

"Well, I'm sure glad you're here. You're my ticket out of this damn place. So let's go."

He goes to grab her by the wrist, but she quickly retracts her arm.

"Don't touch me," she snaps.

But he's quick to react. She can see it happening, almost like he's in slow motion, but still she is powerless to stop what is about to occur. Before she even thinks about trying to get out of the way, he lifts his arm and swings at her. Gun still in hand, he backhands her hard; square across her right cheek. The force of the blow sends her sprawling to the ground.

_Oww… shit…_

Pain is radiating through her entire face and down her neck. Vision blurred, her eyes are watering from the deep stinging sensation in her cheekbone. It might be broken. Laying, practically on her side, she pushes her upper body off the ground, leaning all her weight on her hands.

"Ughhh," the groan escapes her lips before she has the chance to stop it.

She tenderly touches where he hit her, hissing at the contact. Her mouth is beginning to water severely. Spitting on the ground she discovers the liquid not to be saliva, but blood.

The unsub has taken another step closer and is now looming over her.

"Feisty bitch… You know how long it took each of them to quit fighting? One day. One damn day, and they were all begging me. 'I'll do anything' they'd cry. Shame… they were all weak. You're weak."

"Fuck you," the words are slurred slightly from the blood pooling out of her mouth.

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see him lift his boot to kick her. She can sense it. She knows it's coming, so she braces herself.

-BEEP-

The sound of the forgotten walkie talkie comes from behind the unsub. It has apparently averted his attention, because she does not receive a swift kick to the ribs. Whatever that person had to say over the radio, she does not hear it. She takes advantage of the unsub's loss of focus, springing at his legs as best she can from her position on the ground.

Taken by surprise, he falls backwards. Leaves crunching all around him.

Emily jumps on top of him and stuns him momentarily with a mean right hook. But he still has a gun. Her next move, however, is not for the gun in his hands, but her own gun which lies less than a foot from the unsubs head. She knows he is too strong, and she won't be able to wrestle his weapon out of his hands. Her next best option is to fight fire with fire.

While she's reaching out, the unsub takes advantage of her current position. He rolls them over easily and grabs her roughly around the neck. A drop of blood lands on the hand latched onto her throat; his nose is bleeding.

Clawing hopelessly at his hands and gasping for air, black dots dance across her eyes. The darkness is trying to consume her. But before it does, he grabs her up roughly, forcing her to stand on her feet. It takes a moment for her vision to clear. Then he lets go and steps back. She watches him raise the gun at her again.

"I don't have time for this, you little fu–"

And in one swift movement he turns to his left, gun still raised high. She has no idea what he is doing. Her mind is in a fog. She staggers for a second but quickly regains her composure. Watching him, she sees his lips are moving.

_Focus Em. Who is he talking to?_

Her eyes follow his line of sight and relief washes over her. There he is standing tall, gun ready, looking like a bronze god… ready for a fight.

_Morgan!_

"Drop the gun sir," Morgan's voice booms powerfully.

Emily watches the two of them in a standoff. Neither moving, neither looking like they are even breathing.

"Drop the weapon now. Nobody needs to get hurt. It doesn't have to end this way," Morgan continues.

He is trying to stay calm. He can see Emily in his peripheral vision, but he does not dare look away from this crazy bastard. One wrong move… and it's over for him… and Emily.

"Fuck off," the unsub speaks this time. "I… I'll kill her."

He refers to Emily, but does not look at her. He does not see her as an immediate threat. The man pointing the gun at him, however, is a huge threat. So he leaves his eyes trained on him instead.

"No, no you're going to leave her alone. Just put the gun down. We can work this out." Morgan is getting better at this negotiating business, Emily thinks absentmindedly; her eyes shifting between the two of them.

She settles her gaze on the unsub as he speaks.

"No we can't."

A malicious smirk is plastered on his face… and in that moment Emily knows. She knows what he is going to do. And she reacts.

"No!"

She leaps in the unsub's direction. She doesn't know what she's doing, she doesn't have a plan… it's all instincts. Adrenaline is kicking in; with all her might, she is struggling with this monster of a man. She has managed to get a hand on the gun, attempting to free it from his grasp.

"Emily!" Morgan keeps his gun trained on the unsub, waiting for a clear shot.

Morgan is shouting, the unsub is cursing, her adrenaline… fading.

'BANG.'

'BANG. BANG.'

* * *

Oh boy.... sorry bout another cliffhanger, but it just instisted on being left there... trust me I tried to continue, but I felt compelled to leave it.

So, the next chapter will be up soon b/c I can't leave you guys with this forever... and btw it will be a short one

So review please!! tell me what you like, what you dont... yell at me for leaving cliffy after cliffy... thanks 3


	8. Tell Him

Hey guys... here's the next chapter, sorry I didn't get to post last week... Hopefully you'll forgive and drop me some reviews =)

And thanks to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/alerted this story... that's so cool!!! (and I apologize that my chapters pop up twice in people's mailboxes [if you have the story on alert]... but it's the only way it posts properly)

Disclaimer: I own nothing at all  
Rating: M for language  
Warning: Major character death

* * *

Tell Him

A deafening silence.

For a moment she is alone, in a still, mute, painless world. Void of everything she has ever known to exist.

She cannot hear, cannot see…

There are no thoughts, no feelings, no senses. Just a state of being. She is simply there… wherever 'there' may be.

Time does not exist. Color does not exist. Sound does not exist. It is nothingness… calm nothingness.

Unfortunately, this bliss lasts merely seconds… then it all comes flooding back.

---

"Emily!"

She is standing in a daze. Vacantly staring at the body on the ground she does not hear a voice shouting for her.

Her body is out of her control. Her legs move on their own accord, taking her a few steps backwards. Eyes are trained on the two bullet holes releasing the dark red fluid that is cascading freely from the unsub's body. One in the right shoulder, one in the neck.

Pin-point accuracy.

"Emily. Em… where are you hit?"

Morgan is right in her face, but his voice is distant.

She looks him square in the eyes; a mixture of shock, confusion, and bewilderment trapped deep in her brown orbs. She lazily looks away.

"Listen. Focus, Em. Emily!"

Her head snaps back to him and he can see her eyes change. The fear is sinking in.

Emily has yet to answer him, so he starts to scan her body for the wound he is sure she has received. How she is still standing, he has no idea. The unsub was point-blank when he shot her, it's a miracle she is still alive, let alone on her feet.

"M- Morgan," she rasps.

"Shh… Let me sit you down."

"You got him. We… he's dead. He's uhhm…"

Her speech is jumbled, her thoughts scattered. Her body movements are faltering; she sways slightly. Morgan can tell that she's disoriented. He radios to whoever is listening that he is in need of an ambulance immediately.

"Agent down! I repeat, Agent down!"

Then he tries again to get Emily to the ground. He wraps his arms around her abdomen lightly and he hears her take a sharp intake of breath.

Lifting his left hand from her stomach he is met with the sight of blood.

_Oh no._

Contact wound, center of the abdomen, through and through. All the technical and non-technical terms are swarming through his brain. But none of them are giving him the answers he needs. Knowing the terminology for what has happened is in no way going to help Emily. It's just useless information right now.

The slight contact with the gunshot wound must have awoken her senses. Within seconds she is buckled over in pain. She leans into Morgan until, eventually, he is holding all of her weight. No longer is she upright on her own, the adrenaline is all but gone now.

Morgan sinks to the ground, taking Emily with him. Her legs spread out in front of them. She is leaning up against him, her back flush with his chest, head lolling unsteadily under his chin. She clutches at her wound, blood flowing freely through her fingers. He tries to put pressure on the wound as well with his own hands.

"Lo—look."

Lifting her hands up away from her stomach, Morgan is confused and lifts his as well.

"Morgan. I uhh… I'm shot."

"Yes. Shhh… we're going to get you help. Don't worry you'll be fine."

He's not quite sure he believes it.

Once again applying pressure to the gaping hole in her stomach, he is surprised at what she says next.

"I'm dying."

"No. No, Emily you're not. No you're not."

"Yeah, look. It… It's huge," she lets out a short chuckle. "B- but it's g- going to be okay."

Lifting her head up as much as she can, she looks at him and smiles.

He smiles a sad smile back at her. She is trying to make this easier for him, he knows this. And for that she is the strongest person he has ever met.

The tears are falling hard. They are both crying and smiling. He is not happy, but he knows what this moment is. And if this is her last moment, he wants her to remember him smiling.

She starts to shake. He can feel her trembling. Powerless to stop anything in this damn world, he only cries harder. He simultaneously curses God and prays for Emily.

There are sirens off in the distance, but he knows they are a lost cause. Looking around, he wonders where Hotch is. He can hear yelling getting closer. The crunching of leaves grows more and more prominent in the still air. But no one will reach them in time.

He hugs her gently, her head tucked in the crook of his neck, as if she is about to fall asleep. Tears fall from his face into her hair and he kisses where they land.

Her eyes drift closed.

"Emily! Stay with me sweetheart."

Brown eyes open slowly.

"You will tell h- him r- right?" she whispers.

"Tell who what? Who am I telling?"

"Aaron… he already k- knows."

Her eyes close again.

"Em, what do I tell him?"

"J- just tell him p- please."

"Okay."

* * *

Someone is going to kill me!!

I'm sad just writing this chapter... I hate having to do it... but I promise it will get better


	9. The InBetween

Heyy guys! Okay... here's the next installment!! I'm excited about this story, even though it's taking a while for me to get the chapters out... I apologize once again.... Life loooooves keeping me super busy. But I've been working on this chapter for about a week before I'm finally posting it. I don't know why but it just took a lot of fine tuning to get it right. Also, I had to stick pretty close to the movie in this chapter simply because it explains the whole premise of what is happening and what will happen, so it was necessary to use a lot of the same dialogue and situations to get the message across.... so anywho... here it is, a little late but hey... its the longest chapter so far =)

Disclaimer: I own nothing... I have borrowed characters, situations, quotes, etc... but I kindly put them all back when I was finished...  
Warning: As you all know... major character death  
Rating: M for language only, although I don't think I use too many explicitives in this chapter

Happy Reading

* * *

The In-Between

The world around her is calm; the air, still. There are no sounds to hear, except for the gentle breeze that passes through the vibrant trees surrounding her. She is standing in the same woods she was just in moments ago, or at least it seems like moments ago. But there is no one there but her. Morgan is gone, as is the unsub. The screeching of police sirens in the distance no longer falls upon her ears. Nor does the sound of footsteps… anyone's footsteps.

But this doesn't seem to bother her, she feels oddly content. In actuality, she is more curious than anything else.

With her hands in her pockets she strolls absentmindedly along a cleared path through the woods, whistling to herself as she walks. The sun is trying hard to shine through the dense forest, and up ahead she spots a small clearing. The sun is beating down upon the open area, making it seem almost heavenly. As she approaches the clearing, a figure slowly appears, as if out of thin air.

It doesn't frighten her.

It is a woman. Dressed in a large off-white sweater and tan pants, she looks as any normal woman does. The woman doesn't speak as she gets closer, she just smiles at her. She has a warm smile. The inviting kind, that makes you want to tell them everything, even your deepest, darkest secrets. The kind that allows you to instantly trust them.

And Emily smiles back.

"Hello Emily," the woman finally says.

Slightly confused, but with nothing else to say, Emily responds accordingly.

"Hello…"

"Pam," the woman replies softly, signifying her name. "Here, come sit."

Emily glances past the woman and notices something she missed before. Two large, flat rocks sit beneath a beautiful apple tree. Bright red apples adorn the tree, begging to be picked.

"Okay. Nice uhh place you got here," Emily cracks a smile.

She picks the closer of the two rocks and sits. Pam sits on the other and then reaches behind her and pulls an emery board out of her back pocket. She asks for Emily's hand and takes it gently into her own.

If Emily wasn't confused before, she certainly is now.

Pam starts to file Emily's nails.

A few seconds pass, and Emily watches the woman intently. She is surprisingly calm, considering she doesn't know where she is or what on Earth is going on. She found it strange that she was wandering the woods alone to begin with. And even more peculiar, is this woman, who seems completely at ease, as if filing someone's nails in the middle of the woods is completely normal.

Not knowing what else to do, Emily breaks the silence.

"So where did everyone go? Last I remember I tackled the unsub, saved Morgan's butt too…"

She stops and laughs nervously.

She looks at Pam and she sees that she is smiling, as if willing her to continue.

"And then I got sh— And then… Wait a minute."

And then it hits her. Memories, thoughts, pain… it all comes flooding back. She contemplates her next words.

"Uhmm okay, listen. How did I get out of that one?" Emily questions.

"You didn't get out of it," Pam responds gently.

"I didn't?"

Pam shakes her head.

Emily remains calm, trying to make sense of everything that is happening.

"I did get shot. I know that."

"Yes."

"And now I'm sitting here in the woods getting a manicure."

She laughs to herself at the absurdity of that statement. Pam doesn't speak, so she continues.

"Well, I'm either dead or I'm crazy."

At this point, she's not sure which is worse.

"You're not crazy Emily," Pam says as she releases Emily's newly-manicured hands.

Emily is speechless. Not in a million years would she think that she would be dead at such a young age, with so many things to live for.

"I'm dead?"

"That's right."

"Dead?"

"Mm hmm."

Emily falls into a silence. She is thinking about her life… all the things she's done, the things she's accomplished. The reminiscing of the 'good times' makes her smile. But it soon vanishes when she comes to the thought of what she had to live for… all the things she hasn't done, and that she will never be able to do.

But just as in life, Emily puts her foremost feelings on the backburner. She has always been, and always will be an incredibly tough woman… death will not change that. So just as she always has before, she masks her hurt.

"Whoa… just like that? Hmmphh dead."

Her candor is her defense mechanism… if others think that you're fine, then maybe you actually will be. She's always lived her life that way, even though she's never really believed it.

But then something, rather… some_one_ crosses her mind. And this time she doesn't even try to hide her pain. It tears at her heart. It feels like it is literally being ripped in two.

"Aaron..." she sighs.

Pam gives her an apologetic look. She has seen plenty of people come through here. _Here_ being the "in-between", or so she calls it. They are dead when they come to her, well, their bodies are dead. Their souls on the other hand, are very much alive. Alive with a purpose. All the souls she is in charge of still have a connection with the living… it is not until they release this connection that they can finally move on.

Emily's connection is with her lover. And a love like theirs is hard to break.

"He's still not over it," Pam says quietly.

"Well I would hope not. I mean I've only been dead, what, ten minutes?" Emily is almost offended that this woman would think Aaron should be over her already.

"Hmm, well time is a little different down there. Been six months."

"Oh."

It's not an unusual response. She's seen everything from anger to denial to utter sadness. But as hard as it is, it's her job to help them move on, and more importantly help the ones they leave behind move forward as well.

Pam gives Emily a moment to think things over.

"Emily, I need you to close your eyes," Pam instructs.

She does.

"Now think… think of him."

She doesn't have to ask twice. In fact, there hasn't been a moment where Emily hasn't been thinking of him.

"Open your eyes."

They are no longer in the woods. When she opens her eyes, they are in the BAU bullpen. It is dark and empty. Emily walks around to her desk and glides her hand thoughtfully over the smooth surface. She pauses for a moment, leaving her fingers to rest on the top of her chair. Noticing her desk is cleared of all her personal items, a sense of emptiness washes through her.

She looks around, seeing that everything else looks relatively the same as it always has.

Then a spark of curiosity surges through her for a moment, and she glances up to Hotch's office. The door is closed, blinds drawn, but she can see the light trickle through from underneath his door. A sad smile graces her lips and she feels an overwhelming urge to go to him. She makes a move toward the stairs…

"You have a job now," Pam speaks up, attempting to avert her attention back to their discussion.

"Job?" Emily questions her, turning back around.

She sighs and takes a seat.

"We call it the Divine Breath. It's what everyone asks for, prays for. They need it to get them through the hard times. And just when they need it most they get it. _You_ give them the strength, the courage, the inspiration, whatever it is they need in that moment, you're it. You breathe it into them, the Divine Breath. You've received it before. About six months ago? You almost didn't make it out of that fire."

…

_It was their second day in Oregon, in the dead of winter. The unsub, identified as Walter Kront, had abducted and murdered four women before local police asked for their help. A fifth, Tracy White, went missing after they arrived, and by 3pm on the second day, Garcia discovered where he kept his victims. It was snowing relentlessly all day, reaching almost up to their knees. When the team arrived at the location, they were met with the sight of an average looking home. But they all knew this modest looking house held a dark secret. _

_The team, minus Reid and JJ who stayed behind at the police station, along with a few local officials, split up and covered the two entrances. But none of them could have prepared for what lay ahead._

_Once inside, they cleared all the rooms, upstairs and downstairs. So far, no sign of Tracy. Morgan and Rossi started to make their way back out of the house while Hotch and Emily explored the door leading down to the basement. Even before reaching the bottom step, they knew this was where he tortured and killed his victims. The place smelled of death. Blood covered the walls, the floor, the ceiling. Various tools hung from the ceiling like meat in a butcher's freezer. And in the far corner was a lone wooden table, the surface covered in dark red puddles, most likely where the women met their terrible fate._

_Hotch and Emily remained silent. Hotch was just about to call Rossi to let him know what they found when the phone rang in his pocket._

"_Hotchner… What?" he asked incredulously. "Okay, keep them away from the scene, we're getting out."_

"_What's going on?" Emily asked him after he disconnected the call._

"_We have to go," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the stairs. "Someone made an anonymous call to the local news station, saying there had been an explosion and possible take-down of a wanted criminal at this address."_

"_The news crew is outside? But there hasn't been an explosion…" as she finished her sentence, the realization hit._

"_Not yet."_

_They were almost to the top of the staircase when it happened. A bright light, overwhelming heat, and a deafening shriek rocked the entire house. The force of the blast threw them backwards, both tumbling awkwardly down the stairs._

_Then everything went black._

_She didn't know how long she had been out, but when she awoke she could have sworn it was the middle of the night. A curtain of smoke and soot hung around her. It stung her eyes… it hurt just to breathe. Her ears were ringing… she couldn't think straight._

"_Aaron!" she choked out, sending her into a coughing fit._

_Still laying on the ground, she attempted to move. Pain seared through her side. She doubled over, wrapping her arms tightly around her waist. Still struggling to breathe, she tried again to stand up. Fighting off the immense pain in her side and slight twinge in her left ankle she managed to get to her feet. _

_She needed to find Hotch and get out of there, or they were going to die._

"_Aaron!" she called again._

_This time she was met with a groan. Struggling to see through the darkness she caught a glimpse of movement off to her right. As quickly as she could, she limped over to the source of the sound. Hotch was laying on his back, pinned beneath a wooden beam that had fallen from the ceiling._

"_I'm going to move it," she reassured him and he nodded._

_She was terrified of not being able to help him. And for the first time in a long time, she admitted she didn't have the strength all by herself. So she prayed._

_Then she lifted._

_Putting all her weight on her good foot, she raised the beam as much as she could. Hotch was barely able to pull his leg free, and when he did, she dropped it haphazardly back on the floor. She tried to catch her breath, but only managed to make her ragged breathing even worse. Suppressing a wave of nausea, she tried to clear her mind. When her coughing subsided, she looked up to find Hotch still attempting to get off the ground. She leaned over and steadied him as he got to his feet. Ignoring the throbbing in her side and increasing dizziness, she scanned the area for a way out._

_Everything around her was in shambles. Debris was falling from the ceiling and bright orange flames licked at the top of what was left of the staircase. There was no going back the way they came. The heat from the fire one floor above them was becoming unbearable._

_And then she saw it, a glimmer of hope. Across the basement was a window, a small one, but just large enough for the both of them to get through._

_It was becoming increasingly more difficult for her to focus. Hotch's left leg was practically useless, after being crushed by the fallen beam. She allowed him to lean on her, but it was causing her immense pain. It radiated through her abdomen, her ankle… just about everywhere… spots continuously danced across her line of vision, threatening to overcome her for good. But she had to fight it… she had to get them out, or they would die there in that crazy son of a bitch's basement._

_Supporting both her own and her boss's weight, Emily managed to trudge both of them over and around the falling debris, successfully making it to the window._

_The window was at about shoulder height, so she would need a slight boost to get through. Receiving a gruff noise in agreement from Hotch, he did what he could to give her some leverage. Once both feet were up off the ground, she used her elbow to break the glass. The broken pieces scattered all around them._

_Leaning on the edge of the windowsill she lifted herself up and through the window, ignoring the sharp jabs of jagged glass fragments ripping at her flesh. She let herself fall into a heap in the snow. She inhaled deeply, subsequently coughing once more._

"_Help!" she cried out._

_Then she gathered what strength she had left, got up on her hands and knees, and leaned back in through the window, reaching out for Hotch. He grabbed her hand and she pulled._

_She could hear people rushing up behind her._

_Hotch was about a quarter of the way out of the house when a strong hand replaced her own and succeeded in pulling him out through the window the rest of the way._

_She let go of Hotch and let herself sink down into the cold snow again. Her vision fading, she caught a glimpse of medical personnel attending to him… only then did she let the darkness consume her._

…

"You've received it. And that was just one time… there were others. Now it's time to give it back. That's how the whole thing works," Pam continues.

But Emily is still slightly confused.

"Okay, so now I have to give inspiration to someone. To who? Like an FBI trainee?" she asks.

"Well not exactly. You're not going _back_ to instruct. That's only part of it. And she's not new to your field, that's not the kind of inspiration she needs. She just has had some difficulties filling your shoes. You left pretty big shoes to fill, you know."

"Hold on. How is this supposed to work? If I'm not actually there… I can't exactly… I mean if I'm… ya' know…" Emily just can't find the right words.

"Well, when you get the hang of it, you'll be inside their heads. Like one of their thoughts. But remember Emily, you've had your life. Now anything you do for yourself is a waste of spirit."

"But uhh-"

"Oh, and there she is," Pam says looking over Emily's shoulder, toward Hotch's office door.

Emily swirls her seat around.

* * *

Alrighty gang... there you have it... I hope everyone was able to follow along, and nothing got too confusing... just drop a PM if you are majorly confused, and I will clear things up for you.

And I hope the whole "manicure in the woods" deal isn't tooo spacey for everyone, it was in the movie (only Richard Dreyfuss was getting a hair cut lol), so I figured I'd add it to try and lighten the mood a little.

Most of Pam's, and some of Emily's dialogue is from the movie as well, but it was necessary for everyone to understand what is happening... so I take no credit for most of the dialogue

Okayyy... I hope you enjoyed, and I really really hope to get this next chapter up within a week... thanks for reading... reviews are welcomed and much appreciated!! =D


	10. Time Changes Everything

Hello readers... I have missed writing this so much, so I've tried to make some time to get these chapters out to you guys... I apologize for the long absence! =)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zilch... unfortunately.  
Also, this is definitely considered an AU story... I have kind of disregarded Haley and Jack, altogether, even though I didn't mean to, it just happened. So, don't assume they don't exist, they just haven't found their way onto my paper yet... maybe they will later on, maybe not... I'm still not even sure yet. And also, Emily as a "ghost"... so yes definitely AU.

So, anyway... I hope you all like it! Enjoy!!

* * *

Time Changes Everything

Looking up at Hotch's door, it opens slowly. After a moment a woman appears. She's tall, with long auburn hair and green eyes. Emily watches as she descends the stairs in front of her and passes by swiftly. She goes to follow her, but is distracted by a familiar face.

JJ. Her hair is longer than Emily remembers, but it's still blonde.

_I'm glad some things haven't changed_, Emily muses to herself.

Emily watches intently as JJ heads toward Hotch's office. She knocks on the door, enters his office, and closes the door behind her.

Emily quickly gets up from her chair, debating on whether or not to follow her. She stands there, excited, upset, and nervous all at the same time. She desperately needs to see Aaron, but can't bring herself to move. She wrings her hands together and shifts her weight anxiously, waiting for the door to reopen.

Minutes later, JJ emerges and attempts to head back in the direction of her own office, but is stopped by a voice. She turns around back toward Hotch's office and reaches out to grab the case file she apparently left behind.

And stepping through the doorway to hand it to her is… _Morgan?!?_

Taken aback, Emily stares dumbfounded at her former colleague. He's dressed in a business suit… and a tie! No more tight t-shirts, showing off his impressive six-pack… it's all business now. She was wrong, so much _has_ changed in the last six months since she di-… well, since _that day._

Shock is quickly replaced by confusion.

_Why is Derek in Aaron's office? Where is he?_

So many questions bombard her, it's almost debilitating.

"Derek!" she calls, not remembering she cannot be heard.

She starts for the stairs.

"Derek Morgan!"

He doesn't respond. As she reaches his office, he shuts the door. Unbeknownst to him, he shuts it right in her face. Frustrated she reaches for the handle. Anger building up inside her, she prepares to open the door… and forcefully. She doesn't appreciate being ignored.

But instead, she is surprised as she simply falls _through it. _

"Ughhh," she groans, as she regains her composure. She is slightly embarrassed at her clumsiness… even though no one can actually see her.

_This is going to take some getting used to._

Reminding herself again of her current predicament, she focuses on the other person in the room.

Morgan.

Besides the new wardrobe, he looks relatively the same. Slightly disheveled, and maybe a bit stressed, but for the most part, relatively the same. From the outside he still looks like the tall, dark, and handsome tough-ass with guns she can still see, even with the suit jacket on.

"So, I'm glad to see you're still working out," Emily says to Morgan, but to no one really. "You look good in your three-piece. Very professional."

She chuckles to herself. She feels awkward talking to someone who can't hear her, but it makes her feel alive again… for the moment anyway.

Morgan is sitting at his desk… Hotch's old desk. He props his elbows onto the shiny wood surface and places his head in his hands. He rubs his eyes, as if he's tired.

"I really need to get to the gym today…"

Morgan is talking to himself.

Emily smiles.

She takes a minute to look around the office while Morgan continues to monologue. It's relatively similar to the way Aaron kept it. Neat, simple. She didn't know Morgan could be this organized. Turning her attention to the shelves behind him, she lets her eyes wander to the various pictures he has framed. There's one of Garcia, making a funny face for the camera and one of his sister with a small girl, maybe around six or seven years old.

She didn't know Morgan was an uncle.

And it upsets her that she will never be able to ask him about her.

Derek has quieted, and she turns to look at him. But something catches her eye. Another photo frame, at the other end of the shelf.

It is face-down.

Out of curiosity, she reaches for it. Upon looking at the picture it holds, she instantly regrets picking it up.

It was a beautiful spring day, a Sunday if she remembers correctly. The team had gotten together for lunch at a small diner not far from the office, and about halfway through, Garcia pulled out her digital camera. After a weak refutation by both Rossi and Hotch, Garcia lifted the camera up over her head and snapped a shot.

Everyone was smiling. Everyone was happy, and together, and just having fun.

She looks at Aaron, studies everything she has come to love about his face… the creases in his forehead when he scrunches his nose, or the darkness of his eyes she could simply get lost in forever.

A tear escapes, and she roughly wipes it away.

"Where is he Derek?" she questions him.

He remains unmoving, facing the door, away from her. She knows she's not getting an answer, but it doesn't keep her from asking again.

"Where did he go damn it? I need to know… please."

Emily lowers her head in defeat and sighs.

"I know, I know… you can't even hear me."

But then Morgan does something she did not expect. He turns in his chair and faces her. He looks upward from his seated position, and leans back slightly. She is stunned. It looks like he is staring right at her, but it's impossible. She's not really there. Right?

Then he stands. He reaches out in the direction of the shelf and grabs the picture. The same picture she had in her hand not even a minute ago.

But she never put it back down… how could he…

Emily glances into her empty hands.

Turning them over, she deems this as just another sad reminder of what she no longer is, what she can no longer do.

_I can't even hold onto a simple picture frame. It's like I never even touched it._

Sitting again, Morgan stares at the photo. Glancing at every face, he tries to remember those good times. He misses them, Hotch and Emily… every single day of his life. It wasn't long after Emily died that Hotch just disappeared. There were no warnings from him, at least not intentional ones. But he could tell. He knew what was happening to his boss, and it was happening fast. Within the month, he was gone.

To this day, he still doesn't know where he is.

'Knock, knock, knock.'

It's soft, but it startles him all the same.

"Come in," he says putting the picture face-down on his desk.

Emily watches as the same woman from earlier walks in. Now getting a better look, Emily decides she is probably around her own age, and that she is a very beautiful woman. Her demeanor is quiet but strong. She doesn't have to say anything for Emily to feel her presence.

"Hello again, Agent Morgan," she says sweetly, yet confidently.

"Agent Byrne, is there anything else I can do for you?" Morgan asks.

She smiles.

"Sorry, it's just VICAP is a whole different ballgame, so it's going to take some time to adjust. But it's good to be here sir. I felt inclined to tell you that."

"Well, we're happy to have you. Agent Jareau should be briefing us shortly."

"Yes sir."

And with that she turned and left the room quietly.

As the door closes behind her, Morgan leans over and opens up his bottom drawer, withdrawing a manila folder. This will be the third time this week he's had to read over her file. The first time, for when she transferred from the VICAP field office. The second to log a complaint that was filed against her. Now today, just because he feels he needs to give it another glance before their next case.

He reads through the complaint again. It was filed in Denver, her first case with the BAU and coincidentally, her first time out in the field.

"She accused the victim's fiancé of adultery? Ohh, Morgan you've got a feisty one on your hands," Emily laughed, reading over Morgan's shoulder. He shakes his head and exhales loudly, running a hand over his bald head.

"Yeah..."

Emily freezes.

_Did he just hear me?_

She stares at him with wide, curious eyes. She could swear he just answered her, like somehow her words actually reached his ears. She concentrates, trying to remember what the angel said to her.

… _y__ou'll be inside their heads. Like one of their thoughts._

Another minute goes by, and if Morgan did indeed hear her, he hasn't given any other indication of it. Slightly disappointed, she turns her attention back to the folder in his hands.

As Morgan flips through the rest of the file, Emily continues to scan the pages along with him. When he turns back to the cover page, she reads through Agent Byrne's personal information.

Emily stands up straight, and sighs.

"Keira. Well, it's nice to meet you Agent Keira Byrne."

* * *

Okay, I hope everyone is happy with this installment!! I was pretty excited when I wrote it!

Just to clarify, it's AU, so I'm not following any particular time line... I've kinda ignored the whole situation with the Reaper, so Morgan was never in charge before now. Also, I'm not sure if Morgan is actually an uncle, but in this story he is... and VICAP is another branch of the FBI, I didn't do much research so I'm not sure what that department is all about, I just needed somewhere for our new Agent to transfer from so that she had a background with the FBI but not particularly the BAU.

Feedback is very much appreciated!! =)


	11. That Meddling Emily

Heyy thanks to all my readers/reviews/ppl who alerted this story... this one's for you guys!

Disclaimer: I own nothing as usual...

And the title is just a play on the phrase "those meddling kids" from my favorite childhood tv show scooby-doo ;)

* * *

That Meddling Emily

The daylight wears thin as Emily follows Keira through the glass doors into the bullpen. She is flustered and upset and Emily can tell. She quickens her pace, and Emily follows suit.

When she finally reaches her desk, she collapses into her chair with a quiet groan. Her body is thankful it is seated at last, her muscles having protested everything thus far today. Her chair is just the reprieve she needs, but a bed… that would be even better right about now.

Emily watches as Keira's face changes. Her brow furrows as she recalls events from earlier today. With today being a Saturday, and for the moment free of any cases, Morgan decided it was a good day for her to learn some field etiquette.

---

They started off on a high note, Keira intently listening and absorbing Morgan's instructions.

But the conversation soon took a turn for the worst.

And it was Emily who put the proverbial nail in the coffin.

"_And lastly, never, under any circumstances should you misrepresent yourself to any witnesses, family members, etcetera… even if it is to get us information we need. Understood?" Morgan said firmly._

_Keira wanted to just say 'yes' but another part of her begged her to question the rationale of Agent Morgan's last statement._

"_Yes, but what if…" she trailed off, trying to find a polite way to phrase her rebuttal._

_Emily, who had been silent during their conversation, patiently pacing back and forth for the better part of an hour, spoke up to warn her._

"_Ohh no, no," Emily chuckled as Keira remained quiet, still contemplating her next move. "You definitely do not want to 'what if' him. He doesn't like his authority being questioned. It's his machismo. His 'I am Morgan, hear me roar' complex…"_

_But then Emily stopped for a second, and a mischievous smile spread across her face._

"_Nevermind… go ahead, ask. In fact, be assertive, frazzle him a bit. Don't let him scare you, he's a big teddy bear deep down inside."_

_She laughed out loud to herself. It was always fun to watch Morgan squirm._

"_Sir, but I don't see how that could be harmful," Keira questioned, her confidence spiking out of nowhere. "I mean we need to get invited into a victim's house, but their husband, wife, sister, whatever isn't having any of it… we just walk away? If I tell a little white lie to get us in those doors, that should not be reprehendable…"_

_Her pace quickened as her thoughts flew through her mind a mile a minute. She still felt the need to prove to this department and to Agent Morgan that she was worthy of being here. Maybe standing up for herself would gain her some respect._

"_Agent Byr-" Morgan tried to interrupt._

"_Screw protocol, another victim's life may depend on us. We need to get in, get out, and get on with the case… maybe you don't see-"_

"_Agent Byrne!" he raised his voice, his face slightly heated._

_In the corner, Emily jumped._

"_I do not appreciate being questioned. You know protocol and you will follow protocol. Do I make myself clear?"_

"_Yes, sir."_

"_And don't you think I know how hard it is to talk to a victim's family? All you want to do is tell them exactly what they want to hear so they don't shut you out. But you can't go around misrepresenting this team. If you get caught in a lie, our trust and our credibility go out the window. Take tomorrow to rethink your views on protocol, because you two will be best friends by the next time I see you. Isn't that right?"_

"_Yes. Sir I didn't mea-" she was cut off by a still rigid Morgan._

"_I will see you Monday."_

_As Keira stood, Emily was still in shock. Sure she liked to push Morgan's buttons, but she was not expecting that._

_Time sure changed people._

"_Come on Derek," Emily practically pleaded. "Don't be so hard on her. It was my fault."_

_Behind her the door shut with a click. Realizing Keira had left, Emily turned to follow her._

_For the better part of the rest of the day, Keira exhausted her energy at the gym. She felt like she had made an idiot of herself, and exercising was the only way she could expel her frustrations._

_What was she thinking, questioning her boss like that? Stupid, stupid, stupid, she thought to herself._

---

And now, here they are, back in the bullpen. Keira sits silently, mulling over things she can't change. What's said has been said, and can't be taken back. She sighs and leans her head back.

"Ehh, don't worry about him. He'll cool off eventually," Emily encourages.

Keira gathers some things and organizes a few folders on her desk as the rest of the team start filing in.

Rossi and Garcia disappear inside their respective offices, and Reid directs a "hello" in Keira's direction as he heads for his desk.

JJ approaches her and she quickly puts on a smile. She'd rather not have the entire team know how much of a fuck up she is.

"Hi, Agent Byrne," JJ smiles at her.

"Please, Keira is fine," she replies warmly.

"Some of us are headed out for a drink. Would you care to join us?"

"Yes, yes… say yes Keira!" Emily prompts, standing next to JJ.

"Oh, I don't want to impose…" Keira starts.

"Don't be ridiculous. You should really get to know us outside of work, because we sure do know how to have a good time, when given the chance of course."

JJ lets out a small laugh and she can see the change in Keira's eyes. They brighten slightly as she smiles.

"Good. It's settled then," JJ says. "Just give us like five minutes."

"Sounds good."

---

A few minutes later JJ reappears from her office.

"You coming Reid?" she calls as she nears Garcia's bat cave.

"Sure, I'll get Rossi and Morgan," he replies.

Keira suddenly feels terrible again. The thought of Agent Morgan sitting down to drinks with her makes the night seem slightly less appealing.

"Do you think Agent Morgan will join us? He didn't seem particularly happy earlier," Keira doesn't care to elaborate on why she noticed the unit chief's bad mood.

"No, I doubt it," Reid looks over at her.

He gives her a sad smile.

"He hasn't in… uh, in a long time."

The pair goes silent.

"Whoo!! Girl's night!!" Garcia's voice cuts through the void.

The two agents turn their heads in her direction.

"Sorry Spencer dear… unless you got a wig and a set of heals in that drawer there, you are not on the list," Garcia jokes as her and JJ near the two of them.

"And please say you do! I'd pay to see that!" she adds with a wink.

* * *

There you go... not much action in this one but, it was necessary... some team bonding if you will.

I borrowed the "you misrepresent yourself and this team when you get caught in a lie" scenario from when Hotch and Todd had their little discussion in the show.

Let me know if you guys are still reading this... I know I'm few and far between with updates, so just making sure you're still with me here! Reviews are love! Thankss =)


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